Fire extinguisher on tracks sparks scare, probe finds it to be railway property

The incident occurred when the train was heading to Lucknow from Mumbai. It had hardly reached Govindpuri station when the driver spotted a cylinder on the tracks at around 4 am on Sunday

Kanpur: A fire extinguisher that may have accidentally fallen off a train set off a scare on Sunday when the driver of another passenger train applied brakes after spotting the cylinder-like object on the rail tracks between Govindpuri and Bhimsen stations here, according to officials.

“The incident occurred when the train was heading to Lucknow from Mumbai. It had hardly reached Govindpuri station when the driver spotted a cylinder on the tracks at around 4 am on Sunday,” Additional Director General (Railways) Prakash D said.

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The loco pilot immediately passed the information to the control room. The cylinder was later found to be a fire extinguisher, belonging to the railways.

The ADG said that the railway officials launched an investigation jointly with the Railway Protection Force(RPF) and Government Railway Police (GRP) and found there was no criminal intent behind the act.

The findings further claimed that there is no external or other criminal involvement in this case, ADG added.

“In the inquiry report, the railway officials stated that the fire safety cylinder was railway property and it was issued by the section engineer (carriage & wagon) Gorakhpur and it may have fallen from any other train accidentally,” said the ADG adding that no FIR has been lodged regarding the matter.

The railway officials are on an alert following similar incidents recently.

A 16-year-old boy was apprehended for allegedly putting a fencing pillar on the Banda-Mahoba rail track, causing disruptions on Saturday. The driver of a passenger train had to apply emergency brakes to stop the train after he noticed the concrete pillar on the tracks, the police said.

Also, the engine of a train hit a stone placed on the railway track in the Bairia area in Ballia on Saturday, officials said, adding that no damage was caused.

The RPF has formed a special team to solve the case, and patrolling is being done on the rail route, while police has lodged an FIR, the officials said.

RPF Inspector VK Singh told PTI, “We believe that this has been done with the intention of derailing the train. The current conclusion of the team in this case is that some unknown person has placed the stone.” On September 8, an alleged attempt to derail the Kalindi Express, heading towards Bhiwani from Prayagraj, was reported when an LPG cylinder was found on the tracks in Kanpur.

Just a week ago, an empty gas cylinder was also found on the tracks by a goods train loco pilot near Prempur railway station. Both incidents are being investigated.